“All my life, I
always wanted to be somebody. Now I see that I should have been more specific.” -- Lily Tomlin (American Actress and
Comedian. Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2003.b.1939)
TEST DRIVE
At some point in your quest for the right databases to support your research
efforts, you will want to take them for a test drive. Nothing beats hands on experience with an
information product to determine if it is right for you.
There are two easy ways to arrange this.
The most obvious way is to contact each vendor and arrange meetings with
their respective customer representatives. They will be glad to discuss
whatever free trial options are available.
Another way is to attend a conference focusing on database vendors. A conference that I find to be both
informative and fun is the Internet Librarian conference (http://www.infotoday.com/IL2014/)
held each October in Monterey, California. By spending a day in the vendor
exhibition area, you will be able to explore the features of multiple products
in an extremely time efficient manner.
An added benefit is that you may well discover lesser known but very useful
information products you had not been aware of.
TIP: Come prepared with specific examples of the type of search you and
your colleagues might want to conduct.
Find more useful tips at: www.jeansteinhardtconsulting.com
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